


Five Times Tony Saved Stephen's Butterfly

by atypicalsnowman



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Tower, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Monster of the Week, Protective Tony Stark, Stephen's Butterflies, Sweetness, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, because Stephen's butterflies need so much protection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atypicalsnowman/pseuds/atypicalsnowman
Summary: Stephen goes to other dimensions all the time, leaving Tony in the dark as to whether he's even alive.  So he gifts Tony with a little friend, a way to know Stephen is okay, a reassuring light in the darkness.A little piece of Stephen that has even less self-preservation instinct than the original.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Stephen Strange & Peter Parker, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 149
Kudos: 404





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Five times Tony saved Stephen's butterfly and one time he didn't.
> 
> So I've had this fic in my head for about a year, but I was so intent on finishing wsamo in a year (fourteen months woot woot), that I kept it in my notes and waited. Which was a good thing because this gave me so much trouble. 
> 
> Why? I'll tell you why. It was a fluff prompt! It's supposed to be cute and fluffy and then 'the one time he didn't' has all the angst. Nope. I am incapable. But! I did keep this short. It's five chapters at 9k, which is perfect.
> 
> It's also all written so here's the posting schedule:
> 
> 8/21: Prologue  
> 8/25: First time  
> 8/28: Second and third times  
> 9/1: Fourth and fifth  
> 9/4: The one time he didn't
> 
> This will also give me enough time to start work on my next novella. And it will be a novella, not a novel. Damn it.

“I refuse to believe you can’t get a signal in another universe,” Tony said, arms crossed. “You can literally control time and space, but you can’t send me a text from Dimension X?”

“It’s Dimension Ecch, and don’t you think I want a way to reach you?” Stephen asked, grabbing a bag of nuts from the pantry. “It gets lonely out there, and sometimes time works differently. I always want to talk with you, but the signal would have to create its own portal,” Stephen said, stuffing supplies into his bag of holding.

No, really. 

It had been a cute gift from Peter, but Stephen had turned it into a bag that would hold far more than it looked like it could carry. The part of him that was still a nerdy farm boy was always tickled pink when he got to pack it.

“Fine,” Tony said, his tone short. “I refuse to believe _I can’t create_ a device that can send a signal to another world. Hell, even a pager. Anything!”

Stephen sighed and turned to Tony. He hated leaving, and hated even more that the mission was too dangerous to send a quick message home. That was too often the case, and Stephen shared Tony’s frustration.

“Now I know how Pepper felt,” Tony muttered to himself, putting some more granola into Stephen’s bag. “You know, it really stinks being on the other side of this.”

Stephen sighed. “It’s not easy for me either. When you go out with the Avengers.”

“Not the same, Doc,” Tony said, leaning back against a counter, his arms crossed again. “ _You’re_ an Avenger. And you’re with us half the time. Plus, you could always call the suit. Meanwhile, you’re off to some dimension I can’t get to, and what happens if you—”

Tony choked up. He paced the kitchen of the Sanctum, obviously trying to get ahold of himself.

This was the hardest part of going on a mission.

Leaving Tony.

And he shared Tony’s concern. If their positions were reversed, Stephen knew he’d do anything in his power to know Tony was alive and coming home to him.

A rough and calloused hand reached out and squeezed his forearm. “I’m sorry,” Tony said, putting on his press smile, and obviously trying to make it easier for Stephen to go. “Seriously, no one understand this more than me. I just worry. But you need to go, and I get that.”

Tony’s eyes were trained on his boots. Stephen tilted his chin up. “I promise I’ll always try my hardest to return to you.”

The press smile wavered, but just for a heartbeat. 

“Yeah, I know,” Tony said, kissing him quickly. “Just…let me know you’re okay if you can? Just do me that one kindness, Doc?”

Stephen considered Tony for a moment, tapping the pins on the Cloak. There had to be something, some spell that could help in this situation… “So if you knew I was alive and relatively unharmed, it would be okay?”

Tony perked up at that. “Yeah. Seriously, Stephen, I understand responsibility. I just don’t want to worry for days on end.”

Thinking back on his lessons, Stephen scanned his memory for something that could help in this situation.

“Hey,” Tony said, taking him from his thoughts. “Look, I know this is harder for you than it is for me. You’re the one who has to go out and slay literal demons.” He leaned and kissed Stephen again, gently taking his hands. “I don’t want to make it harder for you. I’ll work on this on my own. I’ll figure it out. I’m Tony Stark.”

Then he gave Stephen a real smile. A smile that lit Stephen’s soul on fire, the smile that had made Stephen fall in love and sent his heart aflutter. 

Then he knew the solution. It was simple, but perfect.

Stephen held out a fist.

Tony bumped it.

With a roll of his eyes, Stephen’s fist glowed a bright blue. When he opened it, one of his butterflies was sitting in the middle of his palm.

“Oh, hey!” Tony said. “I know these guys. This is—”

“How my magic physically manifests, yes,” Stephen said. It had been a difficult pill to swallow when he had first discovered it. Mordo’s magic manifested as a dark smoke, Wong’s as burning strips of paper. And Stephen’s was a sweet, little butterfly. 

At least Tony liked them. 

“As long as I live, this little one will survive.”

“Neat,” Tony said, letting the little butterfly crawl onto his hand. His head snapped up. “Wait—”

“That’s right,” Stephen said. “It’s not as good as a direct line to the Cloak, but hopefully it’s better than nothing?”

Tony beamed. “It’s perfect. It’s you, in butterfly form. It’s…a piece of you. As long as the butterfly is alive, so are you.” 

“Exactly,” Stephen said, extremely glad he was able to solve this. There was something a little off about how Tony had phrased it, but he had the right idea.

“Will it be hurt if you’re hurt? Like…will its little wings get bent?”

Stephen shook his head. “No, nothing like that. As long as I live, it will be whole.”

With the butterfly still resting on his finger, Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen. “Thank you, honey.” His shoulders fell and he gave a deep sigh of relief. “Seriously, I’m gonna sleep so much better with this little guy around. This is going to be the most loved and cared for butterfly to have ever lived.”

“Good. Now, I have to go.”

Tony nodded and gave a sad smile. “I love you,” he whispered. “Come back to me, okay? And thank you, for this…little butterfly you.”

“I’ll come back,” Stephen said, because leaving Tony was never an option.

“And don’t worry,” Tony said, letting the butterfly hover above his palm. “I’ll take good care of you.”

Stephen lifted an eyebrow, but then it wasn’t all that odd for Tony to fall in love with small creatures. He had a deep love for all his AIs and the Cloak. Tony was known to befriend dogs in Central Park when they went on walks. 

It made perfect sense that he would want to protect Stephen’s butterfly.

Stephen opened a portal to another world, waved goodbye to Tony, and stepped through.

Tony smiled sadly as it closed, then turned his attention to the butterfly.

“Okay,” he heard Tony say as he closed the portal. “Let’s set up a little butterfly habitat for you, honey. Then maybe we can go find a nice flower. Oh! You put the whammy on that bouquet I got you a few weeks ago so it would stay fresh. You love rhododendron.”

In the split second it took for the portal to close, it occurred to Stephen that Tony might have misunderstood that the butterfly wasn’t actually Stephen . Then a chill slammed into him, hurting his lungs with his first breath and setting his hands on fire. All thoughts of Tony and the butterfly were pushed to the back of his mind as he set off to face a demon.


	2. While Hanging Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments on my little prologue. I was a little insecure about posting something much shorter than usual, so thank you.
> 
> Okay, so for this fic let's just assume the snap never happened and the Avengers are living the dream in Avengers Tower. If magic is real I can wave a hand and everyone is friends again.
> 
> Also, 616 Clint.

Tony stretched and let the world come to him slowly. 

At least twelve percent of him wanted to throw an arm around Stephen and get their cuddle on, but he needed to get up. He’d been wrestling with upgrading armor for Peter until the early hours of the morning and had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

He grunted and burrowed into the blankets. That kid was going to kill him. He’d been by for a visit the other day with _bruises_ on his arms, of all things. That should have been impossible with the Iron Spider. 

The work on Peter’s suit needed to be done immediately, then it was back to work on his ongoing project. No big deal, he was only trying to figure out how to create a tiny wormhole so a signal could get through from another dimension. 

Without an Infinity Stone.

The creating a wormhole wasn’t the problem. The problem was creating one tiny enough and stable enough to send a signal that wouldn’t also try to pull Stephen into a black hole. 

Then Stephen could phone home.

Easy peasy. He’d figure it out eventually. He was Tony Stark.

He had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but it was time to get up. There was work to be done. He pulled the blankets over his head and turned over to give Stephen a quick kiss and cuddle…

…and just kept reaching.

Tony’s head snapped up. “Doc?” He looked around, but the Cloak was absent as well. Maybe Stephen had gotten up before him.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue shimmer. One of Stephen’s butterflies was gently fluttering its wings on his nightstand. 

“Well, there goes my morning plans,” Tony said, gently extending a finger for the butterfly to perch upon. “Friday, did Stephen leave a note?”

“He did,” Friday said.

A small hologram of Stephen popped out of Tony’s phone. He looked a little tired, like he’d hadn’t slept enough, but otherwise okay.

_“Tony, I received an alert that I’m needed but didn’t want to wake you. This mission shouldn’t take too long, a day or two at most. I left a friend for you, but try not to worry too much. I love you.”_

Tony laid back in bed and gently ran a finger over the butterfly’s tiny body. Stephen leaving in the middle of the night only served as a reminder that Tony needed to get to work. He loved having the butterflies around, but having such a delicate avatar of Stephen was nerve wrecking.

It was so small and fragile. And if anything happened to it…

“Well, honey, what do you want to do today?” he asked, pushing darker thoughts from his mind. He put the butterfly to his ear and faked a gasp. “Oh, Mister Doctor, you naughty thing. Maybe when you get back.”

Yeah, Tony knew the butterfly wasn’t _exactly_ Stephen. He’d figured that out when he’d told one of them some Avengers business, then asked Stephen if he’d given it any thought once he’d returned.

That conversation had been embarrassing. He could still remember Stephen’s stifled laugh and hug.

But the butterfly _was_ Stephen in basically every way that counted. It was a piece of his soul, a beautiful night light on cold, lonely nights. It kept him company when Stephen was away in dangerous places where Tony couldn’t follow.

And it told him that Stephen was alive. That alone made the butterfly precious to Tony. 

Tony had installed flowers all over Avengers Tower, the Sanctum, and his workshop. If Stephen was working to take care of himself on missions, Tony would care for his butterfly self here on Earth. He’d never forgive himself if Stephen didn’t come back from a mission because his butterfly had been hurt.

Nothing was going to happen to it. Tony wasn’t going to let a wing get bent, then have to see Stephen with his arm in a sling. No way.

And if he still talked to the butterflies like they actually were Stephen, then who cared? Tony was way past giving a damn what anyone thought.

“How about breakfast, honey?” Tony said, then checked the time. “Damn. Or lunch,” he said, checking the time. “Then we can get Peter over to try out the new armor.”

He got dressed and went down to the common floor, the butterfly perched on his shoulder the whole way. As he exited the elevator and walked towards the kitchen, he realized they weren’t alone.

“Okay, that’s so cute I might just throw up.”

“Probably not the best place for you then,” Tony said, taking out some fruit from the fridge. “I would have sworn you have a nice little place in Bed-Stuy. Maybe throw up there?”

“I’m fumigating,” Clint said, taking another bite of his cereal. “Gonna crash here for a few days. Seriously, what’s with the butterflies, Tony? I’ve seen Strange make them, but any particular reason they follow you around?”

“They love me,” Tony said, then glared as the butterfly flitted over to Clint.

“That’s…not a real color,” Clint said, letting the butterfly perch on his finger. “Seriously, what color is this? This is like…photoshop but I’m looking right at it.”

“I assure you, none of Stephen is photoshopped.” Tony put together a smoothie while Clint studied the butterfly. He started to bring a finger up to pet its tiny, _delicate_ little body. “Um, yeah no.”

“Relax,” Clint said, and gave it a little pet. “I’m not gonna hurt your boyfriend’s patronus.”

“That’s not…yeah, okay, that’s fair.” Tony still felt odd watching someone touch Stephen’s butterfly. He forced himself to look away and back to his breakfast. He knew Clint wouldn’t intentionally hurt it, but accidents happened.

And with the butterfly being so damn delicate, an accident could happen easily.

“It’s just cute, is all,” Clint said, pulling Tony from his worries. “Not like Strange at all. That guy is…” He cast a sideways look at Tony before saying, “Pretty serious all the time.”

Tony shrugged. Yeah, that was definitely the face Stephen gave to the world. Plus, he was serious when he was working, and that just happened to be the only time the Avengers saw him. But Tony knew him better than that. Knew that a bright blue butterfly was the perfect representation for Stephen’s…

What? Soul?

Whatever the word for what the butterfly was, it fit Stephen perfectly. It was soft and sweet, bright and colorful.

“You guys haven’t really had a chance to get to know him, is all,” Tony said, finishing up the smoothie and grinding up coffee beans. 

Clint looked a little ashamed of himself. “Yeah, no…I mean. He’s a nice guy, he just doesn’t seem like the butterfly type.”

Tony grabbed his breakfast and grunted. Stephen would open up to the Avengers soon, probably. Definitely maybe. Clint looked like he was hoping the floor would swallow him up, so Tony put him out of his misery. “We should have a party soon. ‘Get to Know the Wizard Night.’ It’ll be fun.”

Clint looked relieved and nodded. 

Tony gestured towards the elevator with his chin. “You coming down with me or you wanna stay with Legolas?”

The butterfly fluttered twice, then flew towards Tony.

Tony drank his breakfast as he walked into his workshop, put on some classic rock, then brought up the new design for the Iron Spider. Armor so strong it was Peter-proof.

Normally he could get lost in his work for hours, but now he was constantly looking for bright blue out of the corner of his eyes, making sure the butterfly didn’t get into anything dangerous. As the hours went by, it flew circles around DUM-E, sat on some flowers by Tony’s desk, and rested on his shoulder.

Tony was almost done with the modification to Peter’s armor when the elevator doors opened.

“Hey, Mr. Stark!”

“Speak of the spider-devil,” Tony said, spinning around in his chair. The butterfly flew over to perch on Peter’s shoulder.

“Um, wait,” Tony said, that nagging worry eating at him. He was halfway out of his chair before Peter reached up and softly gave it a pet.

“Oh, hey Doctor Strange!” he said cheerfully.

“That’s not actually… You know what? Yes, that’s Stephen. Please be _very_ careful with him.” He gestured Peter to where he was working on his suit. “I have a few improvements for you so you won’t come out of a fight looking like a walking bruise again.”

Tony threw up the new adjustments and let Peter work out the differences, taking delight as Peter found the changes all by himself. 

“I’m almost done,” Tony said. “I should be able to give you the new suit in…hour and a half? You got time?” 

“Of course!” Peter said. He yawned and swayed on his feet a bit. 

Tony looked past the butterfly on his shoulder and the bruise on his forearm and saw dark circles under his eyes. “You getting enough sleep, kid?”

“Yeah, usually, but last night I got back from patrolling late, then I had to study for a test. I’ll just catch up tonight.”

From the look of it, Peter wouldn’t make it to tonight. “Tell you what. Why don’t you catch some z’s while I finish up here? Then you’ll have the energy to take the new suit for a spin with me.”

“Really!” Peter said, his exhaustion temporarily leaving him. “Wait, does this mean you’re going to hit me with things?”

“Only if you don’t dodge ‘em.” He gestured to the sofa in the corner of the lab. “Seriously, take a nap. We’ll go for a spin around the city when you wake up.”

“Okay,” Peter said, then stopped. “Actually, I found out something the other day. Look what I can do!” 

He went over to a corner of the lab and started creating a web from the ceiling to the corner of the wall. The butterfly zoomed over to Tony far faster than he’d ever seen them fly.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you, honey,” Tony said. “Kid, what are you doing?”

Peter stood back and admired his creation which looked like…

“You made a web?” Tony asked.

“Yup!” Peter said, then jumped up and sank into the cradle he’d created. “It’s really comfy.”

“You’re not going to fall off?”

“Nope, I’m sticky!”

Tony laughed and turned back to the armor. “Fair enough,” he said, and didn’t give Peter and his web another thought as he got back to work. The butterfly sat perched on his shoulder for a while. He barely noticed when the bright blue light left some time later.

Classic rock was replaced by Peter’s soft snoring and the whir of DUM-E puttering around the workshop. It was the kind of life Tony had always wanted, except for one missing piece. 

“What?” Peter shouted from his web. “Oh, no!”

Tony summoned a gauntlet and spun around, having no idea what in the lab could make Peter shout like that.

Bright blue wings fluttered desperately, blue sparks revealing the butterfly’s distress.

Stephen’s butterfly was tangled in the web, struggling to escape, its wings hopelessly stuck.

Tony’s heart sank. From one breath to the next he was at the web, batting Peter’s hands out of the way and whispering softly. “Hey, it’s okay, honey. You just got yourself a little tangled that’s all.” The butterfly struggled more, in serious danger of hurting its wings. “Hey, none of that. Quit it. I’m gonna get you out of there.”

Tony took a deep breath and—using the gauntlet—called up the solvent that would dissolve Peter’s web. Hopefully it wouldn’t damage magic butterflies too.

A few sprays and the web dissolved, and the butterfly was free.

Tony watched it fly away and let his head sink into his hands.

“Of all the patronus-es he could have,” he sighed. “It had to be a delicate-as-paper little butterfly.”

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter cried. “I was asleep, and then suddenly the web started shaking a little, and there was a flickering light, and I woke up and saw Doctor Strange’s butterfly caught in the web, and—”

“Hey,” Tony said, grabbing Peter into a hug. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Doc just wanted to hang out with you. It was an accident.” 

And wasn’t that exactly what he’d been afraid of? Accidents. 

Accidents where Stephen never came home again? It was bad enough that he wasn’t able to help on missions, but the least he could do was keep this part of Stephen safe. And he’d almost failed at that.

“Okay, yeah,” he said, watching the butterfly resting on a flower. “One more incident like that and you’re getting the Iron Butterfly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting more on my [tumblr](https://atypical-snowman.tumblr.com) if you'd like to follow me.
> 
> Or on [twitter](https://twitter.com/atypicalsnowma1).


	3. At a Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left comments and kudos! This fic is far less angsty than my last one, but a little more angst and action in this chapter than the last.
> 
> I've also started working on the new novella. 2k in, so not much but it's a start.

Everything was set for the party.

The lights were low, the food and drinks were set out nicely even though they’d be destroyed in about two minutes. The balcony doors were open, letting in a nice breeze.

The wizard of honor was already here. All he needed were the Avengers.

“Do you want your playlist or some house music?” Stephen asked, scrolling through a hologram of playlists Friday had up. He gave Tony a playful grin and said, “Or I don’t suppose I could choose the music for once?”

“Oof, yeah you could, but I don’t know that the Avengers are the smooth jazz type,” Tony said, wrapping his arms around Stephen. He leaned around him—leaning over didn’t work when your wizard boyfriend was unfairly tall—and picked something safe.

Something with a good base line filled in the silence. 

“Great,” Tony said, bouncing on his heels, letting some nervous energy out. “Hey, Doc.” He twisted around so he could look into Stephen’s eyes. “I know this isn’t your usual idea of a good night, so thank you for doing this.”

His brow furrowed, Stephen looked almost regretful. “Tony, I really don’t mind,” Stephen said. “These people are your friends and my teammates. This is probably something I should have a done a long time ago. It’ll be fine. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Uh, yeah, no one said anything about that,” Tony said, then slipped his hand down and pinched Stephen’s ass.

With a fake scowl Stephen growled out, “Oh, Mr. Stark…”

_thwip_

Tony had just enough time to remove his hand from Stephen’s ass before Peter started talking.

“Hey, Mr. Stark, Doctor Strange! I saw the balcony doors open and I thought—oh my God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, _oh my eyes_ …”

“Calm down, kid,” Tony said, squeezing Stephen’s arm and handing Peter an empty plate. “Here, eat something. I got you nuggets.”

“It’s fine, Peter,” Stephen said. He went to pour a cup of punch when a portal opened in the middle of the sitting room.

“Um, rude,” Tony said. The portal opened to the library of the New York Sanctum. Tony recognized Wong and a few other sorcerers, all of them tense and grim. Stephen was instantly alert, the easy posture and happy smile gone.

“What’s happened?” Stephen asked Wong.

“Stephen, we believe Mephisto is planning an attack on Kamar-Taj,” Wong said. “You are needed.”

“Right,” Stephen said, his tone heavy. “I’m coming.” He turned to Tony, leaning down to press their foreheads together. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Tony said, because it _was_ fine. It had to be. “I get it. Just…Kamar-Taj is here, on Earth. I could help? Avengers Assemble?”

Stephen shook his head. “Mephisto has powers that are beyond the physical. I wouldn’t ask any of you to face him. I’ll be smart, I promise. But I have to go.”

“Yeah, okay,” Tony said, biting his tongue. “Just…be safe. Come back to me, yeah?”

“Always,” Stephen said, then kissed him. He made a fist as he pulled away, his hand glowing. Tony bumped it.

Stephen lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Always. Can’t leave my best guy hanging,” Tony said, then held out a palm for his butterfly.

The little thing fluttered its wings a few times, then flew from Stephen to Tony. With one last kiss, Stephen went through the portal and into battle.

Tony let himself feel a little peeved, just for a few seconds. And not only because his ‘the Avengers get to know Stephen’ party was over before it began.

He hated not being able to help, hated being powerless when he should be able to come to Stephen’s aid. But apparently not being magic meant the only thing he was good for was protecting a butterfly.

Closing his eyes, Tony took a deep breath. None of this was Stephen’s fault, and the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj had been working on their own for hundreds of years. Plus, there would always be another party. Even better than this one. Maybe he’d hire an actual magician just to see the look on Stephen’s face.

“Right," Tony said, walking the butterfly over to a floral arrangement. “Underoos, dig in.”

Just as Peter started to tear apart an entire pizza, the elevator dinged and people started to arrive.

Steve, Thor, and Clint walked in and immediately devastated the catering. Natasha took a look around the room, no doubt noticed the butterfly, but didn’t say a word. She gave Tony a questioning look, which Tony answered with a tiny shrug. 

Stephen’s absence was answer enough.

The elevator dinged again and everyone else arrived.

“So where’s the man of the hour?” Clint asked, food flying out of his mouth as he ate. The butterfly came over and sat on Tony’s shoulder. Clint spat out, “Oh.”

Steve squinted a bit, then asked, “Is that…”

Tony shrugged again. He had a feeling he’d be doing that a lot tonight. “Kinda. It’s…a piece of him. He got called away on a mission. Whenever that happens, he leaves one of these guys so I know he’s okay.”

“Wait, so does that mean if someone squishes this tiny bug, they’re killing the Sorcerer Supreme?” Rhodey asked. “Because that’s…really dumb. Stephen’s an almost omnipotent sorcerer and for him to be taken out that easily—”

“Well, that’s why we have to be _really_ careful with it,” Tony said to Rhodey, that smarty pants. “He trusts me.”

“So what happened?” Sam asked. “Dragon get loose in Central Park?”

“I have no idea,” Tony said. “It was really fast, just before you guys got here.”

Sam snuck a look at Steve who stole a look to Natasha whose eyes flickered to Clint.

“Oh, hey, no,” Tony said, putting up a hand. “Shut up. All of you. Of all the people in the world, the people in this room know that when the call goes out, you answer.”

There was quiet for a moment, the only sound faint pop music in the background. Then Steve cleared his throat.

“You’re right, Tony. I’m sure there will be another time we can get to know Stephen.”

The butterfly landed on Tony’s hand.

Just as he reached out to give it a pet he felt an Earth-shattering impact, from his toes to his teeth. 

One by one, everyone rushed to their feet and ran towards the balcony. Red smoke and fire erupted out of a nearby park, and the ground shook again. 

Tony tapped on the nano casing.

“What the hell?” Steve murmured under his breath.

Before Tony could say ‘language’ a dark red blur of smoke and fire shot out of the ground and towards the balcony. Tony had just enough time to activate his nanoparticles and raise his shield before whatever it was collided with them.

“Avengers!” Twelve feet of solid smoke and fire screamed as pieces of his balcony fell on top of him. Bracing himself, he felt flame beat against his nanoshield while the rest of the Avengers attacked. With one hand he pushed back with his shield, and with the other he reached out through fire and heat. Gritting his teeth, he searched through all the smoke for bright blue.

There, in all the darkness, was the butterfly, fluttering away like a twelve foot tall _something_ wasn’t attacking them.

“Friday, encase the butterfly in nanoparticles,” Tony hissed through gritted teeth. The fire this thing was putting out wasn’t stopping, but neither was Tony.

Through the roar of the flames, the unmistakable crash of lightning echoed around them. Thor swung Stormbreaker and finally ended the beast’s assault on Tony.

“Mephisto!” Thor cried out. “You will pay for this!”

Tony flew up and out of the way, looking out for Peter who was trying and failing to wrap whatever that thing was in his webs. Friday had activated the sprinkler system, but most of the common area was demolished.

Stephen’s butterfly was fluttering in a tiny sphere of nanoparticles. 

“You stay out of the way!” Tony screamed. 

The beast—Mephisto—shot flames at Thor and tore Sam out of the sky with one punch. Rhodey was to the rescue quickly, but that was enough for Tony to realize what was happening.

“Friday, call Stephen. Tell him they got a bad lead. If you can’t get him, try to get any sorcerer you can.”

“Tony, what are you doing?” Steve shouted over the din. 

“Calling for help!” Tony shouted. “This is the guy who was supposed to attack Kamar-Taj! They must have done a bait and switch.”

“What the hell is this guy?” Clint asked, firing an arrow that emitted a blast of nitrous oxide, which did nothing. “Uh, Cap, maybe we should call for help. Might be a nice team building exercise.”

“Call Strange!” Cap yelled, then threw his shield through _smoke_ , missing Mephisto completely, and slicing into the butterfly’s nanoparticle bubble.

“No!” Tony screamed, taking his eyes off the battle to check on the damn butterfly. “Friday? Is it okay?”

The nanoparticle bubble cracked and the butterfly fluttered out, without a care in the world.

“Seems fine, boss, for all I know about magic butterflies,” Friday said.

The butterfly fluttered its wings a few times, then landed on Tony’s armor. The balcony was half-destroyed, fire and smoke were everywhere, but the damn butterfly just sat there.

“Okay, that’s it. You’re going inside,” he said, then the nanoparticles made a little shoulder armor. The butterfly didn’t appear to appreciate being trapped but hey Tony didn’t appreciate having to protect his boyfriend’s soul from smoke and flame and _Cap’s shield_ of all things. “Told you I’d make an Iron Butterfly.”

Natasha fired her widow’s bite twice before she grabbed Peter and made her way towards the ground floor. Thor swung his axe, and hit nothing, and Tony prayed that Stephen would show up soon.

Golden sparks began to fly in midair, and Tony damn near collapsed with relief. Out of the portal came a dozen red whips, wrapping around Mephisto through all the smoke and fire. Stephen stepped out of the portal with a dozen other sorcerers, his hands glowing, looking like something out of one of Tony’s fantasies.

Stephen set about a complicated spell while Mephisto struggled to get free of the whips the sorcerers wrapped him in.

“Strange!” he roared. “Your dominion of this world has ended.”

“Not today,” Stephen said, then released the spell. An even darker portal opened beneath Mephisto, swallowing him up and taking all his fire and brimstone with him.

Everyone caught their breath as the sorcerers started putting the place back together as much as they could.

“To think he would attack civilians,” Wong said, as he helped Sam to his feet.

Thor cocked an eyebrow. “We are not—”

“Is everyone alright?” Stephen asked, pointedly not looking at Tony. 

“Yeah,” Steve said, helping Peter and Natasha back up onto the remains of the balcony. “We’re fine.” He looked between Tony and Stephen, like he was surprised at the distance between.

That made two of them.

“Peter?” Stephen asked. 

“I’m okay, Doctor Strange,” Peter said.

“Good. If that’s all…” Stephen said, then opened a portal to the New York Sanctum, taking Tony with him.

“That was really impressive, Doc—oof!”

“Thank the Vishanti,” Stephen whispered, taking Tony into his arms. “When Friday called I thought I might be too late. Oh, Tony.” He pulled back and kissed him, pouring far more love and devotion into a kiss than Tony thought possible.

“I’m fine,” Tony said after they surfaced. “Really. If anything, your butterfly was the one in trouble. It almost got toasted, then split in half by vibranium.”

Stephen lifted an eyebrow and tapped on the little bubble that housed his butterfly. “Why the cage?”

Tony scoffed. “I just told you!”

“Yes, but…” Stephen shrugged and waited for Tony to open the bubble. Once he did, the butterfly landed in Stephen’s hand, glowed gold, and disintegrated into his palm.

“So it just…goes back?” Tony thought there might be something almost Newtonian about that. The entire time he’d almost been cooked in his suit, and all he could think about was keeping Stephen safe. And he’d nearly failed. Twice.

“In a way,” Stephen said. “I suppose we should check on the others?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, wrapping Stephen in his arms. “We will.”

Stephen sighed and held him close. “Tony?”

“Soon,” Tony said, his heart still fluttering as fast as the butterfly’s wings.


	4. While At the Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one this time! This chapter was fun to write though. Thank you to everyone who's left comments on this silly fic.

"I hope you brought enough for everyone,” Scott said to Tony. He gestured over his shoulder to a few onlookers. “Can’t really blame them for rubbernecking an Avengers barbecue.”

“Yeah,” Tony said, then pointed out a few burgers that were definitely done. “I think Stephen gave us a little perimeter, but he said it wouldn’t keep everyone out. Just keep us from being mobbed.”

“Cool, cool,” Scott said, plating the burgers. “So is he coming?”

Tony sighed. Second attempt at an Avengers party and Stephen had to step out. “Yeah, he went over the Sanctum to check on something. Should be back in a minute. Literally, what with the—” he said, mimicking Stephen making a portal.

“Good, that’s good,” Scott said. “Cause hey, this is all just fun. We like the guy fine. We just…haven’t gotten to know him yet. He seems…well, like a really powerful sorcerer.”

 _But not a nice guy_ , went unsaid. And this was coming from Scott, who—aside from Peter—was the Avengers resident puppy dog.

“Yeah, he’s the best. Best at what he does, _literally_ the best man I’ve ever known.” He paused and looked over his glasses. “Saved your life more than once.”

Scott put up his hands. “Absolutely. Like I said, we just need to get to know him.”

“Any minute now,” Tony said, checking his watch. “Any minute…” A tiny portal opened just in front of the fire, ejecting a tiny blue butterfly amidst the sound of screams and spell fire.

“Wait, Stephen!” Tony shouted as the portal closed before he could even make an offer to help. He had his hand half raised to call the nanoparticles when the butterfly landed on his shoulder.

“Is that—” 

“Yeah, Scott,” Tony said. “It’s Stephen. Kinda. Don’t let him get too close to the flame.”

He didn’t know how much longer he could take this. On a surface level, he understood. Completely. But on the other hand, he was Iron Man. If he couldn’t help his boyfriend in a fight, what good was he? It was enough to make him consider the impossible...

“Hey, little guy,” Scott cooed. “You want a burger? What do butterflies eat?”

Tony ripped his shoulder away before Scott could get his greasy fingers all over it. 

“Hey, Tony, where’s—” Rhodey asked, before noticing the little glowing butterfly on his shoulder. “Oh. Damn.”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “I know he’s not doing this on purpose, Rhodey. I know he’s not. But…” He waved a hand towards the other Avengers, who were now doing their best to not look his way.

The butterfly left Tony’s shoulder and flitted its way towards the small crowd of onlookers. Tony kept an eye on it while he fumed.

“Look, none of them have any right getting high and mighty over Stephen missing an event because of a mission,” Rhodey said.

He was right, but that wasn’t it. Not exactly. The Avengers didn’t really know Stephen, and only filled in the blanks with his serious, professional personality.

“Yeah, I know you’re right. But that’s just half of it,” Tony said. “I hate that I can’t help him. That there’s this whole other world that I can’t touch. And all I have to even tell me he’s okay is…”

Wait.

Where was the butterfly?

“Friday?” Tony asked, his voice shaky even to his own ears. “Eyes on Stephen?”

“Hey, Tony!” Sam said, jogging towards him. “At your six!”

Tony spun around and there, caught in a little kid’s net, was Stephen’s butterfly. Sam was way faster than him, and since Tony didn’t want the kid to suffer the absolute trauma of Iron Man coming for him, he resisted activating the nanoparticles. 

“Hey, buddy,” Sam said. “That guy there is a friend of ours.” Tony finally caught up, panting. “Can we have him back?”

“No!” the kid shouted. The butterfly twisted and turned in the net, struggling to get out.

“Aww, come on, kid,” Sam said, while Tony ripped the damn thing out of the kid’s hands and rescued the Sorcerer Supreme from being murdered by getting its wings pinned.

“Hey!” the kid shouted. 

“The butterfly’s an Avenger!” Tony shouted, quickly stalking away. “And you!” he shouted at the butterfly fluttering in his hand without a care. “What happened? How does the greatest sorcerer of our time get caught in a net?”

“Is Doctor Strange okay, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked. 

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Tony said. The butterfly flew around their heads, but stayed around the other Avengers.

“Is there anyway he could…not be a butterfly?” Peter asked. “Like couldn’t he be anything? Like a tiger or a bear or something?”

How to explain that the butterfly was a little piece of Stephen in magic form and since Stephen’s soul was lovely and graceful, there was no way to change it. Cause yeah he’d rest a lot easier if he had a great big hawk on his shoulder. 

As opposed to the delicate paper wings that were flitting around.

Tony exhaled and grabbed a burger from the pile. “He always wanted to be a pixie, kid, what can I tell you?”

“Hey, Tony,” Natasha said, approaching with one eye on him and the other on the butterfly. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, fine,” Tony said. “No idea what happened, but whatever monster attacked they really picked a great time.” He didn’t take his eyes off the butterfly, not trusting it to take care of itself anymore, and seriously considering that nanobubble again. “I don’t like having it here out in the open.”

“Yeah, understandable,” Natasha said.

Just as Tony took another bite of his burger, a bird dove out of the sky and towards where the butterfly was hovering between Scott and Sam. Tony tapped the nanoparticles, and raised a hand just as the bird grabbed the butterfly in its mouth and started to fly off.

The nanoparticles had never been slower to flow over his body as they had been while Tony watched a bird fly away with a piece of Stephen’s soul. Tony immediately blasted off, fear and adrenaline moving him like he never had before.

He had one job. Stephen went off to save the world, and he had to look after his soul at home. He couldn’t believe it, he’d failed at the one thing he could do. What would even happen if the bird tore the butterfly apart? 

Would he lose Stephen completely? 

He cursed himself for not paying enough attention just as the Widow’s Bite stunned the bird, it falling quickly into Tony’s outstretched hands. 

He pried the butterfly out of the bird’s mouth, and let the bird fall to the ground. 

His hands cupped around it, Tony landed and inspected it. Its wings were whole and its little body was intact. The only thing harmed was Tony’s blood pressure.

“Hey, Tony,” Clint said, running up to him with the other Avengers looking on. “He okay?”

While Tony panted and thanked gods he didn’t believe in, the butterfly just rested on his hand, seemingly unaffected by it all.

“Yeah,” Tony said, panting. “Doc. Please. Please, never do that again.”

The butterfly fluttered its wings, but whether it was an agreement or rebuke, Tony couldn’t tell. “That’s it,” he said. “You’re going back in the bubble.”


	5. And One Time He Didn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and the one time he didn't. Thank you to everyone who's left kudos and comments! You are all so kind. 
> 
> For anyone wondering, I've written two chapters of the new novella but I want to get the third done before I post anything. I really want to be sure I have the story right. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the last chapter of this short, silly thing. 🦋

“Better cancel those dinner plan, Fri.”

His hands were covered in engine grease, but he scratched his nose anyway. Not like he was going anywhere. 

The butterfly had appeared just a few moment ago, hovering over DUM-E and taking Tony’s attention from rebuilding his hot rod’s engine. His heart sank as he realized what this meant: Stephen hadn’t even had time to call. The threat was that terrible and came that quickly.

Which, hey, fine. He ran his fingers through greasy hair and kicked his toolbox so hard his wrench clattered and flew into the engine. He forced himself to take a deep breath and screamed into his hands because, yeah, Stephen was a big boy. Sure, he knew how to handle himself. But all the waiting around for him to come home, not being able to help, was killing him. 

There had to be some way for Tony to help. Cause this wasn’t working. He’d even stalled on his ‘Stephen phone home project,’ so he couldn’t even rely on his tech to help him.

The only thing he could do was keep watch over the part of Stephen that he left behind, but that wasn’t enough anymore. But the only other thing he could think to do was…something Tony never thought he could do.

He pulled up his shirt to wipe the grease from his face and cleared his throat.

“So, Doc,” Tony said to the butterfly. “Kinda had plans tonight, but what do you say we see if Peter’s around and watch a movie? Maybe get some pizza?” The butterfly fluttered in what Tony thought might be an affirmative. 

God, he was learning to interpret a butterfly’s wings. 

“Okay, Friday, lift her up.” Reenforced chains lifted the engine up and back over the open hood. The butterfly fluttered over and hovered by Tony’s shoulder.

“Careful there, honey,” Tony said, letting Friday guide the engine. He wandered back to his bench, telling himself tonight could still be fun. Stephen was a big boy. He was the Sorcerer Supreme, the head honcho.

The Tony Stark.

Everything would be fine. He’d have Peter over, maybe invite some of the Avengers up to his floor—since the common floor was still being repaired—and try to take his mind off whatever hell beasts and monsters his boyfriend was currently fighting without him.

DUM-E whirled around, moving his arm up and down, looking like he did when there was a fire. Tony looked around, but didn’t see a thing.

“Hey, what is it, buddy?”

DUM-E pointed towards the engine compartment, where the butterfly was hovering, directly below the engine Friday was trying to put in.

Tony’s heart sank in his chest for one moment, before he pulled himself together. “Friday, you’ve got an invader, hold up on securing that engine.”

“I see him, boss.”

Just as Tony walked over to the take the butterfly in hand, one of the chains holding the engine snapped.

The sound was deafening. A chain that should be all but unbreakable clattered to the ground, and time seemed to slow down as the engine fell.

Sprinting, his heart pounding in his chest, Tony tried to make it in time to catch an _engine_ with his bare hands. The sound of the thing crashing and warping the hot rod’s frame sounded twisted and unnatural, but Tony didn’t give a damn about that.

Because his worst nightmare had come true.

“Doc!” he screamed. Because the thing was so little it had to have moved out of the way, right? There was no way that something that had a piece of Stephen’s soul would just sit there and let itself be crushed by a car engine. Stephen had survived demons and monsters and _Thanos_. There was no way something of Tony’s could kill him.

“Friday, get over here!” he shouted, trying to lift the engine by himself. “Come on, honey,” he muttered, straining himself, willing the engine up and away.

“Boss, put on the suit,” Friday said, her voice cutting into a growing madness. 

He tapped on his nanoparticles and lifted the engine over his head, dumping it to the side without a care.

“Do you see it?” he asked Friday. Maybe it had escaped and was flitting around the lab somewhere, trying to drive Tony into an even earlier grave. “I don’t see it!”

He looked through the remains of the engine, trying to find some sign that it had been here. 

“Okay,” Tony said, huffing, his breathing maybe coming back to him. “He’s not here. Which means…”

His words trailed off as he caught sight of the engine he’d just thrown on its side. 

There, on its edge, were bright blue butterfly wings. Wings so bright they looked photoshopped in real life. A soul so bright and beautiful it brought Tony joy just by looking at it.

Every time, except now.

The blue was crushed, the butterfly’s little body twisted. Tony could do nothing but stare for a moment before rushing over, hoping maybe something could help, maybe there was a bug… doctor…

Maybe…

Tony took the remains of the little thing in his hands. He knew tears were falling down his face, but he didn’t feel them. 

“Boss,” Friday said, in a tone he’d never heard before. “Boss, I’m so sorry. I’m going to call Ms. Potts and Colonel Rhodes.”

“What?” he asked, because wait what? Why would…

And then reality connected in his head. Stephen’s butterfly was dead. The piece of his soul that kept him tethered to earth, to Tony, was gone. 

Stephen was gone.

“No,” Tony hissed, cupping the butterfly to his chest and retracting the suit. “No, that’s…that’s…stupid. It’s ridiculous. There’s no way— _no way_ —you can take out Stephen, my Stephen with an accident.” Tony was running around the lab now, when had that happened? He just had to keep moving. DUM-E was coming towards him, but no, the butterfly couldn’t handle getting the fire extinguisher. 

“Boss, Colonel Rhodes is on his way down,” said Friday. “Try to take deep breaths.”

“Why?” Tony asked, spitting the word out, because Friday was insinuating something impossible. No, there was no way. “Call Bruce! Or a—bug guy! What are they called? Call one of them, someone from Columbia. Stephen went to Columbia! That’s—he’s—”

He had one job.

All he had to do was keep Stephen’s soul safe. That was it. 

His breaths were coming in pants. His could feel himself shaking. 

He opened his hands and looked down.

There, in his dirty, greasy hands, was the crushed soul of the most beautiful man he’d ever known. His one and only. The love of his life.

And he had killed him.

His feet gave out from under him, just as Rhodey ran over to stop him from falling.

“Tony,” Rhodey said, running a hand over his hair. “Hey, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”

Tony shook his head and cupped the butterfly harder. He couldn’t let Rhodey see Stephen like this.

“Should I call Stephen?”

Tony laid his head against his hands and wailed.

“My God,” Rhodey whispered. “What happened?”

Tony could barely hear what Rhodey was saying. All he knew was that Stephen was dead.

And Tony had killed him.

*

Steve paced the partially restored living area of the common floor. “He’s been like this for hours, Rhodey said.”

The elevator doors opened and Clint stepped out, the last Avenger to arrive. “What’s going on? I just got orders to assemble with no explanation.”

“We don’t know,” Natasha said. “Whatever happened, Tony’s had a breakdown. Rhodey and Pepper are with him now, but they finally asked Thor to call Stephen.”

“It was not easy finding him,” Thor said, “but he’s coming.”

“Um,” Scott said, raising his hand. “Not to be _that guy_ , but is Stephen really the person you want to call when you’re having a breakdown? I mean, he seems like a nice guy but maybe not the warmest person?”

The rest of the Avengers all nodded to themselves, but didn’t say a word. They didn’t have to. The general consensus was that while Stephen Strange was a powerful sorcerer and welcomed Avenger, he didn’t appear to be a very good boyfriend.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that guy,” Sam said. “I’d stand with him in a fight, but…I don’t know about him being someone to get me through a crisis. I’m glad Pepper and Colonel Rhodes are in there.”

“We’ve all seen Tony handle just about everything that’s been thrown his way,” Clint said. “I don’t want to imagine what broke him.”

They were all silent for a moment, contemplating what they might be facing that could destroy Tony Stark when golden sparks filled the empty space in the kitchen. The sounds of moaning and screams of pain filled the air before Strange exited some sort of hell dimension and came into their kitchen.

He was covered in blood and grime, looking exhausted and half out of his mind with battle rage.

Thor came forward first, his hands raised. “My friend, perhaps you should take a breath and wash yourself before…”

“Where’s Tony?” Stephen asked, his eyes murderous. “You used Stormbreaker to contact me, said it was an emergency. _Where is he?”_

“His workshop,” Natasha said. 

Stephen didn’t waste time with the elevator. He created another portal and walked into a room filled with an entirely different kind of moaning and screaming.

But this time they were from only one man.

Rhodey saw him first, looking up from where Tony was wrapped around him, screaming his voice raw. 

“Oh, Tony,” Stephen said, then closed the distance between them, taking Tony from Rhodey’s arms and then wrapping around him. 

He’d left the portal open, could feel the Avengers’ eyes on him, but didn’t give a damn. To hell with his image. Tony was in pain. Something terrible must have happened, but Pepper and Rhodey were here and seemed to be fine. The only other thing that could have happened that could explain this reaction was…

“Peter?” he asked Rhodey, who shook his head.

“He was in class, but he’s on his way,” Rhodey said.

“Stephen?” Tony hissed out, his voice abused and raw. He pulled back and ran his hands over Stephen’s face, his reddened eyes wide as he searched for a lie. “Stephen?” 

“I’m here now,” Stephen said, then kissed him. “What happened? What’s wrong? Oh, Tony. What did they do to you?”

Tony just started crying again, burying himself in Stephen’s arms and knocking them both over with the weight of his fall. With Stephen on his back, and Tony crying in his arms, he was able to talk to Rhodey. 

“What the hell happened?” he whispered.

Rhodey just shrugged. “The only thing I could get out of him was your name and ‘butterfly.’”

Stephen lifted an eyebrow and just kept holding on. He ran his hands over Tony’s back and sides, noticing his hand curled into a fist. He gently pried Tony’s fingers open and saw the crushed remains of the butterfly he’d left him.

Oh.

_Oh._

Behind them, the Avengers watched two grown men on the floor, one crying his eyes out, the other doing everything to comfort him. 

Stephen saw Natasha lift an eyebrow in Sam’s direction. Sam lifted his hands and shook his head. 

“What?” Scott whispered. “I knew all along. The guy’s a big softie.”

“Stephen,” Steve asked. “Is everything okay now?”

“Yes,” Stephen said, talking to Steve upside down. “Everything will be fine.”

*

Later, Tony was curled around Stephen in bed. He didn’t have the strength or the desire to leave Tony to return to the battle, not when his eyes were still red-rimmed and his body still shaking.

“You thought the butterfly _was_ me?” Stephen asked, now that Tony was calm enough to talk about it.

“You said it was you, that if you were alive the butterfly would be whole.”

“Ah,” Stephen said, and recalled what Tony had said the very first time he had conjured a butterfly for him. “And so you thought the opposite would be true. If the butterfly died, then I would die as well.”

Tony whimpered and tucked his face into Stephen’s neck.

“It’s alright,” Stephen whispered. “I’m fine. They’re a manifestation of my magic. They get hurt all the time in the heat of battle. It’s okay.”

Tony fisted Stephen’s shirt, then rolled over on top of him, wrapping his arms and legs around him, tucking his face into his shoulder.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he whispered.

Stephen felt his heart fall to his feet. 

“Oh,” he said, his heart breaking.

Tony looked up enough to see Stephen’s face. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant. Never, Doc. I love you. But I can’t do the whole stay at home waiting thing anymore. I’m not built for it.”

“We don’t have to discuss it right now,” Stephen said, taking a deep breath. “You’re upset, you—”

“What if I learn magic?” 

He might as well have dropped a bomb in the middle of the room.

“What?”

“Well, maybe not exactly what you do, but what if I learned enough to combine magic and my tech? Create some new way to fight your demons? Cause, something has to give, Doc, and it ain’t gonna be me.”

Stephen laid there, completely unable to speak.

“Stephen, I thought I lost you today. I thought you died,” Tony said. “Every time you leave, I have to face the idea that I’ll never see you again, and I can’t do a thing about it. Even though I’m _Iron Man_.

“I just…I want in. I’m willing to work hard, I’m willing to help, but I want to go with you. I want us to fight together. You and me.”

“The Iron Mage,” Stephen whispered, amazed at just the possibilities of it. 

“No, I think that would be you. But something, Stephen, anything. Throw me a life preserver because I’m dying here.” 

Stephen nodded. If Tony was willing to try, then Stephen was wiling to listen and work with him. 

“We can talk more in the morning. For now, we should rest. We’ll have Peter over for breakfast and we can be disgusted by how quickly he eats.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Tony said. “Especially you being there.”

“My heart broke, walking into your workshop and seeing you like that,” Stephen whispered. “I thought something had happened to Peter. I couldn’t think of a thing that could effect you so.”

“You,” Tony whispered. “I thought I was holding your body in my hands. I thought it was my fault you were dead.” His eyes filled with tears again.

Stephen held out his fist until it glowed blue. This time, Tony didn’t bump it.

The little butterfly fluttered around the room for a moment before it came to land on Tony’s nose.

“I love you, but this little guy has a death wish.”

“Oh?” Stephen asked.

“I was seriously thinking of making an Iron Butterfly.” He sighed. “Then today happened.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Stephen said. “But I’m here now. And nothing will separate us.”

“No,” Tony said, and Stephen knew he was already making plans, drawing up schematics, building suits in his head. “Never again.”

The little butterfly left Tony and fluttered around the room, bathing their bed in a soft blue light, driving away nightmares as Tony fell asleep.

Running a hand over his back, Stephen allowed himself to imagine the wonder of Tony mastering magic and tech and combining them together, of sharing his world and his life with the man he loved. How demons would hear their names and cower. He kissed Tony’s temple and allowed the soft blue glow to lull him to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> It was for my novel-length, but this is how I imagine Tony with the butterflies. [Tony Stark: Butterfly Wrangler](https://jannelle-o.tumblr.com/post/625009056065667072/commission-i-did-for-tardistara-based-on-the)
> 
> I'll be posting more on my [tumblr](https://atypical-snowman.tumblr.com) if you'd like to follow me.
> 
> Or on [twitter](https://twitter.com/atypicalsnowma1).


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